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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23106838">Shepard's N7</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihoardlibrarians/pseuds/ihoardlibrarians'>ihoardlibrarians</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Thieves, F/M, Heist, Ocean's Eleven AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:48:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23106838</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihoardlibrarians/pseuds/ihoardlibrarians</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard is a mastermind in retirement.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Illium</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A new planet, a new Shepard—or, at least, that’s what she kept telling herself. In retrospect, retiring on a planet like Illium might not be the smartest move for a recovering master thief. The Asari built this world specifically for scheming and Shepard was just so damn good at it. She shoved the thought out of her mind. There was a bar and a Turian waiting for her here. She didn’t know which she was more excited to see. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she and the other passengers filed out of the shuttle, she caught sight of Garrus, her partner in all things, standing tall and gray among a sea of blue faces. Shepard’s heartbeat was suddenly the only thing she could hear as they locked eyes across the trade room floor. That answers that, she thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She took her time reaching him. She almost couldn’t believe he was actually here— the way the Omega 4 job ended made her feel so uncertain. What if, in the cool darkness of space, he changed his mind about her? He had been so raw and vulnerable the night before the job, the night that changed everything for her. She didn’t want to lose that part of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shepard finally reached him but she still didn’t know what to say. Garrus took her bag despite her protests and pressed his forehead against hers. Some things didn’t need to be said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shepard.” The harmonic layers in his voice conveyed so much at once; longing, relief, sorrow. Why sorrow? She reached up to touch his face. The possibilities flooded her mind. Was it his family? The bar? The team? Something was wrong. “It’s Anderson,” he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shepard’s world dropped out from beneath her, the sound of her persistent heartbeat rushing back into her ears. Garrus was still talking but she wasn’t hearing any of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head but it wouldn’t clear. “What? What did you say?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Garrus gripped her shoulders and forced her to meet his eyes. “Anderson is in the hospital,” he repeated, not for the first time. “It’s bad, Shepard.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tried to pull away from him but his hands were strong. “I need to - let go, I have to see him, I-“ Tears burned into her eyes as she fought them back. She would not cry in front of strangers. Her throat closed up around her protests, tight with grief. This was all wrong. She choked out one word. “How?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Garrus sighed. She knew from the weight of his sigh that she wouldn’t like the answer. “The Illusive Man.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shepard’s heartbeat was replaced with the ringing of a detonated flash grenade. An icy rage blossomed in her chest and crept all the way throughout her body, down to her fingertips and toes. Garrus looked away from her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take me to him,” she said. And because it was Garrus, because she knew he was hurting too, she let the ice melt for a moment. “Please.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Hospitals</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shepard hates hospitals</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Our Lady Athame was the finest hospital that Shepard had ever seen. It was a testament to Asari advancement and aesthetic. She watched the baby-faced doctor monitor her friend’s vitals as he rested in a plush bed bathed in sunlight. Shepard could almost forget that surely, somewhere in this same building, someone took a final breath and someone else grieved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to get Karin here,” she said to Garrus. “This hospital is--” she paused. “Fine.” No hospital was ever fine. “I’ll just feel better if he’s under the care of someone we trust.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think she’ll come?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For Anderson? Of course she will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shepard opened the door to Anderson’s room and smiled tightly at the doctor making rapid notes on her data pad. He was a wreck-- his entire face was a dark bruise and his breathing was ragged. It seemed to cost him a great deal of strength just to open his eyes and smile at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shepard.” His voice was warm, but thin. Shepard moved to his side, glaring at the unknown doctor still tapping away, oblivious to the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will you give us a few minutes alone, Doctor?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor looked up, finally registering Shepard’s presence. “Who are you? No, no visitors, only family. Get out!” The doctor made to shoo Shepard out of the room but Anderson reached out to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is my daughter.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor looked at Shepard then at Anderson, unable to find a similarity in their faces. Shepard folded her arms and glared at the doctor, a silent dare to challenge the patient. The asari turned a lighter shade of blue and darted out of the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anderson chuckled. “Poor kid. She’s trying her best.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Shepard sat beside her friend and took his hand, careful of the bandages that seemed to cover every inch of bare skin. “Tell me what happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anderson squeezed her hand. “The Illusive Man sent Kai Leng to deliver a message. If he wanted me dead, you’d be identifying my body in the morgue.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shepard let out a long breath. She’d never met Kai Leng, but she knew the stories. He was brutal and unforgiving. She was surprised that he managed to restrain himself from killing Anderson.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry,” she said, voice soft.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anderson shook his head. “Don’t be. You did the right thing. The Illusive Man would have hurt so many people with that technology. Destroying it was the right call.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shepard looked out the window at the Nos Astra skyline. The Cerberus Spires stood tallest of all the glass buildings. Sky cars gave the towers a wide berth as they zipped by. In the penthouse suite of the tallest spire, the Illusive Man sat plotting. Months ago she stood before a holographic projection of his smug, punchable face as he tried to change the plan on her. He wanted the Reaper tech she found in the Collector’s vault. She was just supposed to look into disappearances and stop them from happening again--not deliver a weapon of mass destruction to the head of a terrorist organization. She destroyed it. She had to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I made a mistake at the end of the Omega 4 job. I knew what kind of man he was and I defied him. I thought that just meant he’d come after me. Fine. I died and came back, what can he do to me now? I should have known better.” Shepard released Anderson’s hand and crossed to the window to study her target. “But the Illusive Man made a mistake, too. He’s the one who brought me back. I’ll make sure he regrets it.”</span>
</p>
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